Developing the Leadership and Management Approach in an Organisation (the organization must be chosen)

Developing the Leadership and Management Approach in an Organisation (the organization must be chosen)

Order Description
Developing the Leadership and Management Approach in an Organisation ( can be chosen by studdent)
a) Intended Learning Outcomes
1. Critically appraise the different approaches to, and the possible styles of, leadership.
2. Evaluate and appraise the importance of basic leadership principles
3. Appreciate the priority of creating an open, honest and challenging work environment.
This Assignment is assesses the ability of students to carry out needs assessment in the area of leadership and management practice, draw appropriate conclusions and recommendations and consider related development issues.
b) Description of Assignment
Students should highlight the ways in which their chosen organisation’s environment affects its culture. This can be based upon the Interim Assignment – Preliminary Analysis. Students should then discuss how environmental and cultural issues drive the organisation’s approach to leadership and management. Findings should be presented in the form of an outline report consisting of analysis, conclusions and key recommendations. The conclusions should focus on the appropriateness of leadership and management practices, whilst the recommendations should consider possible improvements, implementation considerations and development issues. Recommendations should be prioritized according to relative importance and should be limited to no more than four.
The Outline Report must integrate course theory with student knowledge of the aforementioned organisation. It is essential that the recommendations are designed to the specific needs of the selected organisation and this should be evident in the analysis and conclusions.

Appendix 1
Helpful Questions

Societal Issues
To what extent is technology shaping the environment in which the organisation operates?

In what ways is globalization affecting the organisation?

Are there any labour force trends that affect the company and the way it operates?

Can you identify any specific economic developments and trends that are influencing the organisation?

Are there any other issues which are impacting on the way the company operates?

What impact do any of the above issues have/potentially have on the leadership and management approach and practices in the organisation?

Are there issues that the organisation faces, or is likely to face in the near future, in which it may be hindered by its existing culture?
Organisational Culture Issues

Applying Schein’s approach and model, what can you say about the culture of the organisation?

What are the important shared tacit assumptions that the organisation has learned in order to cope with external tasks and deal with internal relationships?

What do the organisation’s artifacts reveal about the organisation and its culture?

Are you able to highlight specific behaviours or rituals that reveal something about the organisation (and culture) you researched?

What, if anything, do the espoused values reveal about the organisation and its culture?

What were you able to ascertain about the deeper underlying assumptions that prevail in the organisation? What do those assumptions reveal about the culture as it is versus the way it is portrayed?
Organisation Development Issues

What is the structure of the organisation and to what extent is it appropriate for addressing current and future challenges? Did you perceive any of the parts of the organisation, or its culture, to be dysfunctional?

In which areas, and in relation to which issues, does the organisation need to develop to succeed in its primary task(s)?

In what ways does the culture of the organisation influence its mission, strategy, means used, measurement systems, correction systems, language, group norms of inclusion and exclusion, status and reward systems, and concepts of time, space, work and human nature?

Did you detect survival anxiety in the organisation arising from failure to meet important goals? Was there any concern about the ability of the organisation to achieve future goals?

Based on past and existing organisation development initiatives, has the organisation, and its members, effectively dealt with any learning anxiety that was experienced? Were planned changes and developments successful?
Human Resource Management and Development Issues

To what extent is the HR/HRD function involved in strategic decision-making, considered to be a value-adding and deemed to be a business partner?

How would you describe focus of the HR/HRD function in respect of external and internal issues? Is it primarily focused on one or the other or is there an appropriate balance?

To what degree does the HR/HRD function engage with line management regarding HR and HRD issues? Does line management share responsibility for those issues?

How would you describe the shape of HR in the organisation? For more information about this, please refer to Rees & French (2013: pp. 26-31).

To what extent does HR retain a transactional role in the management of people?

Do you detect any need to adapt the shape and role of HR in the organisation?

Is the HR/HRD function in the organisation primarily reactive or proactive?
Leadership and Management Issues

To what extent is a distinction between Leadership and Management apparent in the organisation? Is there awareness of this distinction and to what degree is it reflected in the Leadership and Management roles?

Does the organisation follow some basic competency model for Leadership and Management and if so what is that model?

How would you describe the leadership approach that is practised in the organisation? For more information about this, please refer to Rees & French (2013: pp. 85-94). To what extent is the approach appropriate?

Change Management Issues

What types of change does the organization appear to be experiencing?

What appears to be the organization’s favoured mode of change intervention? Which models of change management does it use?

How much use does the organization make of Organization Development (OD) strategies and practices?
To what extent is the management of the organization familiar with the various tools that can be used in the management of change?

To what degree is the response to the organization’s environment addressed through the organization, team and individual development? In this respect, are these similarities with Schein’s work on organization culture?
Employee Development Issues

How mature and developed are the organization’s HRD strategies and practices? What scope exists for developing these further?

Does HRD support the organizations response to its changing environment? In what ways might it improve in this sense?

Is learning viewed as an individual imperative, or is it clearly a team and organizational focus? How would the organization benefit for adopting practices that are evident in best practice learning organizations?

The Structure and Components of Outline Report
You are asked to provide an Outline Report with the following elements:
1. Analysis 50%
2. Conclusions 30%
3. Recommendations 20%